Text Structure in Informational Texts

...can help you better understand what you are reading.

...can help you organize the information from a text.

...can help you write about what you read.

How does the author present the information?

What order is the information in?

Authors of informational texts arrange and connect events and ideas in their writing.

Sometimes two or more text structures are present in one text, although one usually dominates. 

sequential

problem and solution

cause and effect

comparison and contrast

Authors present information about events or steps in a process, in the order in which they take or have taken place.

Look for words that indicate time order.

The use of dates and words such as then and finally indicate a sequential text structure. 

Ask yourself: What events are listed and discussed?  Do the events have to happen in this precise order? 

A writer presents a problem or a series of problems, and offers solutions on how to solve them.

Ask yourself: Does this part of the text revolve around a problem that must be solved? 

Authors who specialize in history or science topics often use this structure to explain how or why something happened.

Words and phrases such as therefore, because, and for this reason point to a cause-and-effect structure. 

Authors use this structure to present information about things that are different but have something in common, such as two points of view on a subject.

Ask yourself: Are two or more things being compared?